The questions to put to your local authority before you commit to a conservatory.
Many conservatories are built under permitted development rights, which is why homeowners often assume permission is never needed. That assumption is where problems start.
This guide sets out the factors that decide it and who to ask. We give you the checklist; your local planning authority gives you the answer for your property.
Permitted development rights are conditional, and these are the conditions that matter most:
Planning permission and building regulations are different systems. A conservatory can be exempt from one and not the other.
Conservatory exemption from building regulations depends on factors including floor area, glazing proportion, thermal separation from the house and whether the heating system is extended into it.
Contact your local planning authority with the proposed size, position and your property's status. Ask specifically whether permitted development applies and whether a Lawful Development Certificate would be sensible. We'll flag anything we spot on survey, but the authority's answer is the one that counts.
We'll survey, set out the likely regulatory position and quote a specification that suits the property.
We'll tell you what we believe the position is and what's typically required, and we work alongside homeowners and their agents. The application itself sits with you or your appointed agent.
A formal confirmation from the council that your project is permitted development. It's not compulsory, but it's useful evidence when you sell.
Sometimes. It depends on size, glazing, separation from the house and any structural opening. We'll set out what applies at survey.